Dungeons and Dragons pin collection
Celebrating magic, fantasy, and nerd-dom. Creating bold, colorful, and interpretive designs for one of my favorite hobbies: Dungeons and Dragons.
Dungeons and Dragons, the famous table-top role-playing game, has been around for decades, created by American game designers Ernest Gary Gygax and David Arneson in 1974. It gained a massive increase in popularity over the past few years, especially with the rise of live play shows and podcasts. Like many other nerds and geeks, I was in love with the game (and like many late-comers, most familiar with the most recent, fifth edition version). Over the course of several months, I designed, fundraised, and collaborated with overseas manufacturers to create my own series of D&D-inspired enamel pins.
Brainstorming and Design
To create a cohesive style for the entire collection, the process was done laterally, brainstorming for all of the designs before sketching, and sketching all of them before refining. Botanical fillers populate each design, and there are repeated elements across similar classes, like the wing motif in the Cleric and Paladin pins.
Funding with Kickstarter
Due to the nature of enamel pins, realizing them into tangible, physical product is often a significant financial risk, especially for independent artists. In order to get this project to manufacturing, I needed a way to both gauge interest and acquire funding. Luckily, Kickstarter exists for exactly that purpose. In October of 2021, I launched my first Kickstarter campaign—one that ended up proving extremely successful, with all three stretch goals met within four weeks. I also designed the graphic components and branding for the Kickstarter website, which you can find out more about here.
The Final Product
After finalizing the digital files, finding a reputable manufacturer, and several weeks of virtual product quality checks, I was ecstatic to receive a total of 700 enamel pins in the mail (50 for each design)! I designed and printed backing cards, personally wrapped each shipping box, and sent them on their merry way to my generous Kickstarter backers. Since completing this project, I have done a few other enamel pins, and am now working on pushing out a line of fantasy-themed pronoun pins. Pins and other merchandise are available at hundredlily.com.